Chinese woman summits Everest, helped by chopper lift

In this photograph taken on April 18, 2014, Everest Base Camp is seen from Crampon Point, the entrance into the Khumbu icefall below Mount Everest, following an avalanche that killed sixteen Nepalese sherpas in the Khumbu icefall. A Chinese woman became the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest this season, officials said on Saturday, but the climb was clouded by controversy because she took a helicopter part of the way. -- PHOTO: AFP

KATHMANDU (AFP) - A Chinese woman became the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest this season, officials said on Saturday, but the climb was clouded by controversy because she took a helicopter part of the way.